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Post by motosada on Jan 8, 2012 1:25:37 GMT -5
So, looks like they'll be doing a Bryan heel turn after all.
Also, x, your Punk/Bryan image got 404'd.
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Post by MRW1215 on Jan 10, 2012 18:04:12 GMT -5
So... nobody wants to talk about the Funkasaurus? That was so completely random. I totally thought it was going to be some stupid Laurinitis joke, then when I saw it was actually him, I was in shock. I guess it's nice to see them do something different, instead of making him just another generic heel "hoss", but I'm still not quite sure how I feel about this gimmick. Part of me thinks it's really stupid, and that he's going to be permanently stuck as a comedy character; but... part of me kinda enjoyed it.
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Post by Slime on Jan 10, 2012 19:01:08 GMT -5
It completely threw me off, but that was the best segment on RAW. Totally didn't expect that and had me laughing a little. Everything else was terrible. Like Jericho.
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Post by motosada on Jan 10, 2012 21:46:58 GMT -5
Yeah, I was rolling. It was a great swerve. It'll be interesting to see how long they keep that going.
And if they don't drop the hammer on the Jericho thing next week and have him be all "You idiots cheer me just cuz I'm back. Did you forget about all the terrible things I did last time I was here? And you CHEER ME?!?" then they're going to blow the entire opportunity.
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Post by orochigeese on Jan 10, 2012 23:03:19 GMT -5
Yeah, the Jericho thing BETTER be a set up. I have confidence just cause I doubt Jericho would make a big return only to do the lamest angle possible. But it's been kinda painful so far.
I missed the Funkasaurus thing.
Punk/Swagger was pretty good but the ending was...odd. I get that it advanced an angle but I hate seeing a ref's call like that so dissected. It unintentionally gets into "exposing the biz" area.
Also, them having Cena say that Zach Ryder's Twitter status was more important then his Championship was DISGUSTING.
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Post by motosada on Jan 10, 2012 23:27:49 GMT -5
Yes. That was gross. Twitter whatever, but, I really hate how WWE treats Championships. Even back during the Attitude era, they would have Champions enter first and just... disrespect for the point of the Championships themselves. Like, okay. I understand last week having CM Punk vs Ziggler before the n event because of the whole Cena/Kane thing. But they had to do that again this week? I'm glad that the Ayatollah of Rock 'n Rolla is back... but, c'mon Jericho. Say something. You know I got you.
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Post by orochigeese on Jan 11, 2012 0:12:04 GMT -5
WWE had Cena say that it was more important that Ryder was Twitter trending then that he had won a WWE Title.
F*ck that. Seriously. I've been really sickened over the last few months by their social network pandering but that really was the worst thing I've heard from them in a few years. Way to totally job your own fed creations to an outside source. Booking 101 by Vince Russo.
I'd love to see Twitter suddenly go offline just to watch WWE scramble to re-shuffle and re-prioritize their show. Stop talking about trending and do something trend-worthy. It's like f'n Barry Horowitz with their twitter pimping and self-congratulatory time wasting.
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Post by motosada on Jan 11, 2012 1:27:14 GMT -5
I disagree, not about putting Twitter over their Championships, but about it being self-congratulatory time-wasting, and here's why; things like Facebook and Twitter are a way to bring the fans a bit closer into the fold, and to keep their attention longer. Just like websites did 10 years ago, just like magazines did 20 years ago. If Brodus Clay, decked out in Run DMC-style Adidas gear is the number one talked about thing on Twitter worldwide, that means, more people are talking about that, and seeing that, and having a good time with that all around the world, than any other single event.
You get people talking, you get people interacting, you get people's attention, and then you get people's money. The WWE is using new ways of getting people talking, just like everybody else, and they can't really be blamed for it. The only difference is, WWE is actually bringing that to people's attention. I'm not saying they need to talk all the time about it, but I think it's cute that on the entrance tiles, it has their Twitter account, and they discuss when something in WWE is being talked about all around the world. Saying it's more important than any actual event is the line, but I don't really think that was their intent.
[edit:] I went and watched the promo between Cena and Ryder, and it wasn't Ryder being Champion that Cena said wasn't important. Ryder was thanking Cena for giving up his WWE Championship match so Ryder could have his opportunity, and thanking him for saving him from being roasted, and then said he was still weirded out. And he didn't know if it was because Kane, or because of Eve, or because his title defense, and that's when Cena interjected, but really only to say that Ryder had become more popular than former WWE Champion The Miz. So, they weren't downplaying the Championship, just saying that a lot was going on for that character, including his popularity rising higher than someone who walked out of the last WrestleMania with the WWE Championship. That doesn't sound too bad.
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Post by orochigeese on Jan 11, 2012 2:00:19 GMT -5
Cena's message wasn't 100% clear, I'll grant you that. But it still seemed to me he was talking about the Title.
As to your larger point, WWE is spending too much time getting existing fans talking about existing fans talking.
The message is THE MESSAGE rather then the substance. It has no real positive effect. For every second WWE is wasting ON RAW talking about Twitter, that's less time they are using to impress viewers so that those viewers tell their friends: "____ happened on Raw, Wow!". No one is gonna call their slightly casual wrestling fans and say: "wow Michael Cole just talked about trending topics."
If you're watching Raw...you're already watching Raw. If you keep hearing them talk about things that aren't directly Raw related, you're gonna eventually tune out. This is about the audience they're pimping twitter too, not the use of social media. I have no issue with WWE having twitter sites for each wrestler or having a facebook site or whatever. Just don't spend time on your show "preaching to the choir" about those sites when they know it...and just tuned in to watch wrestling. I really think the vast majority of fans do not tune into Raw to hear WWE congratulating themselves about twitter. They tune in for some sports entertainment/wrestling hybrid.
I have no problem with the WWE corporate site or the WWE "investor phone calls" patting themselves on the back about twitter and fan numbers. Or even the very occasional Twitter mention on Raw. But they've gone way overboard in my view. I've turned off Raw at times cause they refuse to build the product itself rather then build recognition of the product to people who already clearly recognize the product. It's redundant and time wasting. It prevents them from doing anything of substance during that time.
It also kinda annoys me that wrestlers are promo'ing against each other using Twitter. It's like for every e-fed handler who ever wishes their written RP could be acted out by a real wrestler, WWE is doing the opposite. They're taking the potential of super hot Rock/Austin level crowd interaction promos...and making them into a "LOL k bye thx" twitter e-fed promo from Keina. Totally ridiculous.
Wrestling isn't hot now. Cena products sell well but WWE is not anywhere near the casual people's minds and they're not gonna be by just talking about social networking to their own existing fans. So let's say some casual fan (or non fan) sees that Wrestler A is trending on Twitter....then tunes into Raw...just to hear Cole talking about Twitter. Wow. Riveting entertainment there, LOL.
Talking on Raw to Raw fans about Raw fans/wrestlers twittering does nothing to expand the product to more fans. all it does is tire out the existing fans cause they just want to watch wrestling. If you're gonna hook teh fans using twitter on the net...make sure you have an actual product to show them off when they tune in. Pimping twitter is not even Vince Russo level sports entertainment. It's just advertising yourself on your own show. It's madness. Not even advertising a future PPV, it's advertising that this show exists and people know about it and are twittering that they know! That's how black holes form. WWE can do better. This is just lazy.
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Post by Slime on Jan 11, 2012 2:08:05 GMT -5
Raw has been terrible the past few weeks. Dunno what they're doing with Kane. I haven't been paying attention to promos so I'm not sure how much Twitter they are trying to shove down your throat. But the Twitter ones with The Rock was painful.
Here's something to lighten up the mood:
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Post by motosada on Jan 11, 2012 8:21:59 GMT -5
I didn't like the Kane thing at first. But Kane trying to turn Cena to the dark side? Brilliant.
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Post by MRW1215 on Jan 11, 2012 9:20:20 GMT -5
I liked when it did seem that Kane was trying to "turn Cena to the dark side", but his promo on this past week's RAW kind of killed that, because now it's not "Cena, embrace the hate these people feel for you!", and it's become "You people boo Cena because you're like him!". So, it seems like it's just going to become WWE's way of trying to get the people that boo Cena to relate to him, and sympathize with him. Which I doubt is actually going to work, but that seems to be the direction they're taking it now.
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Post by MRW1215 on Jan 11, 2012 14:58:39 GMT -5
So, RAW's coming to Cleveland in March, and... I kinda want to go, just because it seems like there's a strong possibility The Rock might be there, and that'd be pretty cool to see him. I don't think I've seen Rock, live in person, since that time he got beat by Hurricane.
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Post by orochigeese on Jan 11, 2012 17:11:22 GMT -5
I liked when it did seem that Kane was trying to "turn Cena to the dark side", but his promo on this past week's RAW kind of killed that, because now it's not "Cena, embrace the hate these people feel for you!", and it's become "You people boo Cena because you're like him!". So, it seems like it's just going to become WWE's way of trying to get the people that boo Cena to relate to him, and sympathize with him. Which I doubt is actually going to work, but that seems to be the direction they're taking it now. Ugh, that's an annoying story transition. WWE falls over themselves to dictate to the fans who to cheer for. Which is annoying enough on its own but even worse when they still stand by the line that the "fans pick who becomes popular" when that's clearly not the case. I wish the WWE would just stop the overt storylines about Cena getting booed. At this point, turning him heel would pander to 50% of the fans and keeping him face would pander to the other 50%. Why not just write interesting stories for him that don't require face/heel status? Cena handles himself well with not worrying about people that hate him but that gets lost when every story revolves around the face that so many do. It compromises the character's integrity and interest when they keep facing him with this same dilemma and we never get beyond that except for the few months when they need him to be Champion.
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Post by motosada on Jan 14, 2012 15:39:54 GMT -5
So, they induct the Four Horsemen... But, Barry Windham instead of Ole Anderson? What? Really?
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